Most major players in the UK supermarket sector have made pledges to address environmental and sustainability issues, most of which in turn have a significant impact on the construction industry through either new-build or refurbishment work, Contract Journal reports.
Waitrose has pledged to reduce its CO2 emissions by 10 percent by 2010, relative to its trading pattern in the year 2001. Sainsbury’s says it has invested more than £15m in energy efficiency projects. Tesco says it has achieved an absolute reduction in energy use in its buildings despite growing sales by nine percent and sales areas by more than seven percent. Against a baseline of 2000, it wants to cut the average energy use in its buildings in half by 2010.
According to Niall Trafford, the executive in charge of store design and specification at M&S, although a lot of store re-modelling work was started before the adoption of the company’s Plan A green agenda, this has itself generated further work. The company is in the process of writing a green specification for stores, which will be available from this summer, and has already begun Plan A-inspired modifications.